iN FiVE YEARS: FATHER FiGURE PART-TWO2
by yoursuperheroisshowing
Summary: Pairings: Chalant and Spitfire Summary: If you haven't read PART-ONE1, start with that and work your way up. Y'all enjoy!


**12:48 P.M**

**MOUNT JUSTiCE**

Brain-wiped, somber, and empty. These things clung to Zatanna's eyes, her smile, her memory. The words and the way she spoke were tainted with something new, something familiar.

Dick hated it.

This dark cloud inside of her was growing, rapidly. Nabu had claimed Zatara only about two weeks ago. Robin had visited her three days after when he got the chance. He noted the fact that she wasn't as angry or sad as she was hollow; a shell of a human being.

Now, the little nice things he would try to recall were muddled; rejected to the back of her head. He mentioned the time when he'd accidently gotten gum smothered in Artemis' hair, hoping to crack a smile onto her cold, pink lips. She just looked back at him with those lost blue eyes, like a chilly plain of sand waiting to be blown away.

She stayed away from the zeta-tube; the world that lay outside of them was too much, too unexpecting. Her paling skin and absence of ocean water-tousled hair explained it all. Robin had closed his eyes, referring to his own dark days when the blue sky and reigning sun had caused him to hide into the shadows of his mind from within the walls of Wayne Manor.

In all his power, Dick wouldn't let her go through the same thing.

Hauling Zatanna out of Mount Justice was a challenge. After talking with her in her dorm for two hours, he decided it was a long overdue time for her to get out of this place. Nonchalantly, he suggested that they just get up and walk around the facility, maybe get something to eat. She obliged. As soon as they passed the kitchen, Robin scooped her into a bridal-carry and darted towards the zeta's.

Sweet of a girl she was, Zatanna could _definitely_ be one feisty, ebony-haired, tiger.

"Lemme go!" Her arm muscles flexed largely as she tried to pry herself out of his iron-tough arms. Her amazing strength took him by a huge surprise- much like hers towards _his_ surprise.

"We're- we're being spontaneous!" Robin grunted. Almost there.

"I am going to go spontaneous on your ass if you don't…!" Writhing around in persistance, she was almost free. "Erif ti pu!" And her skin began to burn. With a deep yell, he suddenly dropped her and she took off back to her dorm. Fortunately, Wally had taught him a thing or two in accelerating running-speed. Robin caught her quickly by the waist and dragged her backwards, her arms still grabbing the air in front of her.

"LET. ME. GO! I thought you were my friend!" she yelled.

"I _am._ That's why I'm…doing…you…a…FAVOR!" Robin thrust them into the steel tunnel.

**8:36 P.M**

**NORTH BYALiA**

Superboy threw the final soldier across the forest sky. The guy sailed through the air in rugged screams, then landed into the mass of trees a quarter-mile away. The Team almost pitied how easy that 'army' had been taken down by the boy of steel. Almost. There was a mission to take on.

"_Go, Kid."_

In a flick of air, Kid Flash came sprinting out from the trees. After tearing up a bit of earth and scuffing bark, his feet barely touched down as he sped on towards the unguarded building. Aqualad came out of hiding as well, then did his best to keep up.

"_Miss Martian, open the doors and take out any distractions. Superboy and Artemis, accompany us when the coast is clear."_

The huge, iron, garage doors burst open on their own. An illusion. A gust of wind went by as the invisible girl flew into the building. It was an empty shell, no apparent threat. All seemed safe till gunshots began to fire. Now came foreign voices, yelling and calling out orders.

Kid Flash spurred his feet into the ground as Aqualad stopped in his tracks, encasing himself in a sphere of water; preparation to retreat.

Then the snipers began to suspend from their hiding places, thrashing around in the air. Kid Flash stood in curious awe. Aqualad let the water fall to the grass around him. After a few seconds passed, the snipers stood motionless in the air, then fell.

Their eyes were open, but empty. A river of saliva began to flow from their gaping mouths.

"_Miss Martian what did you do to-?"_

"_I'm just trying something new"_ she responded quickly.

"_And that would be…?"_

"_I'm not really sure, but I know they won't cause us anymore problems."_

"_Good. Superboy and Artemis, proceed."_

Artemis leaped out from her tree in silence and hit the ground running. _"Who exactly are we up against?"_

"_Batman has reason to believe it is Sportsmaster."_

"Beautiful."

"_We have your back, Artemis"_ Miss Martian thought gently.

"_I don't need it M'gann, but thanks."_ She sprinted past Superboy and Aqualad, determined to keep her position as their most valuable asset. Being super-powerless _sucked._

Aqualad, Kid Flash, Superboy, and Artemis met in the center of the vacant building. They didn't trust it. In uniform, the four stood with their backs facing each other, eyes scrutinizing their surroundings. They stayed low to the floor, anticipating attack like a small army.

"_So what exactly is _Daddy _up to?"_

"_Accumulating raw materials for an unknown corporation. We are here to find out who and destroy the load."_

There was a snicker. _"Load."_

"_Wally, shut up." _

Superboy turned his ear towards the absent doors. His eyes flashed alarm as his fist clenched. The muscle in his arm pulsed. _"We've got more company."_

"_Miss Martian, Artemis, Kid, search out any information about this buyer. Superboy and I will handle the rest. Go!" _

Kid Flash and Artemis took off on release, sprinting deeper into the building. Artemis was nothing but a blonde smear for a moment as he ran. Accomplish buzzed through him as he strode on.

The place was packed with shipping crates. Most of them were average sized wooden ones while a few others where huge and constructed of metal. Characters in foreign languages sprawled themselves across the hull of the metal crates. He slowed his speed to check out if any were in English, something he could read. Suddenly, a chain-link gate loomed into his vision, cutting him off from the rest of the room. He skidded to a stop before crashing into it. Miss Martian hadn't taken notice and passed through it with ease.

"Should we call Miss M back or…" Kid Flash asked the incoming Artemis.

Lightly panting, she pulled a hunting knife out from an unnoticeable pocket on the side of her calve. "I got it."

She sliced the wire like butter. Kid Flash watched in terrified admiration.

"You always carry that thing around?"

"Like a best friend."

Ripping out the man-sized whole in the fence, she gestured for him to go through first. "After _you_." He saluted her with a grin and sped in.

"_What do you have, Mgann?"_ Artemis pressed.

"_Tubes. A ton of them, with no identification to where they came from."_

"_What do you mean tubes, Sweetheart?"_

"_Maybe not tubes, but that's the best I can describe them."_

"_Where are you?"_ Artemis cut back in. _"We're coming."_

"_South side."_

"_We're coming to find you, Babe."_

"_You can't catch a break, can you?"_ Artemis thought bitterly.

**1:09 P.M**

**HAPPY HARBOR MARiNA**

People say your six senses can bring back memories.

"_Nope."_

"Please?"

"Sorry, Boy _Abduction_."

"Zee, you love this stuff- you're the one who introduced it to me."

Zatanna's eyes faltered. She knew he was just trying to help- a really sweet gesture on his part- but she had never eaten what he held before her_. Never._ "I- I don't remember."

Like witnessing a déjà vu of his past self, Dick persisted. He knew the symptoms.

"Would you like to?" She starred at the small strips of grilled fish in the styrofoam plate. Her little ski-slope nose then crinkled. There was a grimace.

And the Zatanna he knew peeked out from the shadows- the one who liked to try new things, to tackle an adventure with a smirk and classy attitude. She took the flimsy piece of fish and chewed. Her eyes grew with a small, remembering smile.

"Told you." Zatanna waved him away.

"How- I mean this- I forgot how much I loved this marina food" she said, pooping another piece into her mouth. "I _forgot_. It was really late…. we went with Artemis after some mission in Arkham. Right?"

"Yup, just Catwoman screwing with a bank vault. Minor stuff."

"_Good times" _she laughed, letting that night stir her into reflect.

"Good times" he agreed, stealing a piece for himself.

She then tilted her head towards the direction of Mount Justice. "You know, I didn't just refuse to ever leave by choice. Let's be realistic, Tornado doesn't trust a teenage girl with a crafty hand of magic to go speeding around here on my motorcycle." There was a slight raise of one of her black brows. "That's not to say I haven't tried." An eye-roll replaced her smugness. Bad-ass just wasn't her thing- screw the fact that she was a magician. She was still _Zatanna._ She laughed it off.

"Whoa ho" Robin teased. He leaned back in his chair and stuck his hands in his jean pockets, thankful for the pack of extra clothes he had in his dorm. "Look who's being rebellious."

"It's daddy's-girl-gone-wild."

"Watch out" he exaggerated charismatically .

Getting out of The Cave did Zatanna good. Obviously she needed a friend to talk to and he was more than happy to be there for her. Besides that, they had fun together- something the Justice League didn't exactly specialize in providing to their protégés. It was all about_ Justice, _wasn't it?

"So without you stretching the whole 'secret identity' thing" she air-quoted sarcastically with a little laugh. "What's your dad like?"

A crystal glass plummeted, then shattered; Robin's mind had gone blank. His face went white. His heart stopped. Blood ran from ice to molten lava in seconds.

Zatanna took notice, but only to the tip of the iceberg. "Okay, bad question-" she responded hurriedly, uncomfortably.

"-Is that Richard Grayson?" a passerby asked aloud, peering into the restaurant patio. A sudden silence. Some creaking chairs. Then sound of people's curiosity began to rise in a sudden, growing bubbling.

"Here?!"

"Where?!"

" Oh my God_, Richard_!"

"Ma'am, I'm a waiter here!"

"Mister Grayson, I'd like a word! Why are you here today? This ain't Gotham. Are you meeting with someone? Where's Brucey?" called another, throwing out questions and remarks like a hyped-up auctioneer. This voice caught Robin's ears, despite all of these random calls around him, still searching for the young heir to Wayne Enterprices.

_Something familiar_. With a careful peek, he noted the face. He knew, but couldn't recall it at the moment.

He couldn't recall breathing either.

Zatanna whipped her hair around in quick swipe. "Richard _Grayson_? Where?" Like some sort of fan, she had become oblivious to anything else for the moment. With a wide grin and excited eyes, she scrutinized the direction where the people where scouring.

Then reality caught back up.

Zatanna peered back at Robin, who sat frozen in his chair. Misinterpreting his sudden take on shock, she shrugged innocently. "I just think he's kind of cute. I saw his picture in magazine once, not too shabby."

"I am _sooo_ dead" he mumbled, sinking slowly into his chair. He pulled his shades higher up as if that would solve _anything._

Her face scrunched up in confusion. "What?"

In a hairpin turn of a moment, Robin grabbed Zatanna's hand and pushed aside the table. Dishes and glasses clattered onto the floor in combustion. Completely astounded, she could only process herself to keep up with Robin's Flash-worthy speed. He weaved sharply around incoming people while pressing the black lenses harder against his face.

He had lost the patio exit.

With a deep groan and eye-roll, he changed his direction in a cutting veer backwards. The doors of the restaurant blasted open as he darted inside, Zatanna still in his hand-lock.

Surrounded by people, easier to blend in, he took a split-second to stop running.

The face followed him inside. It sped walked with a ready camera in his hands. Was that a grin on its face? _"This is _not _my day."_

Sprinting. Careless. Horrified. Robin threw open the swinging kitchen door and melted into the world of hot steam and angry cooks. Taking notice to the intruders, the chefs were enraged as the kitchen-boys pursued him. He was that more determined for an immediate way out.

The face broke through the clouds of steam, whirling around in search of his Richard. The clouds parted. They met eyes for a brief moment. The face smiled. Robin let out a tiny gasp. His eyes went small; a deer in the headlights.

Zatanna yelped as he abruptly pushed her down to the tiled floor. Clutching her hand tighter, he dodged white-pant legs, sizzling dishes, and racing silver carts of various foods.

The kitchen was an eternity. Following the glimmer of sunlight, the back door grew. It was close. It was closer. With a tight squeeze of his hand, Robin pulled Zatanna in. He pushed in stone-hard persistence and the door went flying open. Then he slammed it back shut.

He wasn't safe yet, but he was almost there. They stood alone in a stench that coated the garbage alley.

"Robin, what the hell-?!"

"-We're being spontaneous." A few feet away stood a ratty little store, hidden away from the public. In a wordless, swift motion, Robin dragged Zatanna into it.

"You are so _weird _sometimes, you know that?!"

"I embrace it."

**TO BE CONTiNUED**


End file.
